chapter 1: the guardian code
"No, wait! Stop, Jamie!"
My shouts drown in the chants of a mob of teenagers, surrounding two particular boys in the middle.
Except, you can't quite call Jamie a boy anymore. It's been a decade since Pitch's defeat. Jamie's grown nearly to my height, brown hair and eyes kind of reminding me of my own, back before I was chosen. But he's gotten a lot more buff than me, thanks to his joining the football team.
And obviously, he's learned how to throw a punch.
"Jamie, can't you hear me? Listen to me, it's Jack!" I try holding him down, but it's my old life all over again. My hands pass right through his shoulders, showing no signs of contact but thin wisps of mist, gone as quick as a breath in the winter cold. I get the urge to cry out, but then, there'd be no one to hear that either.
Jamie's opponent is a head taller than him, but thin, with dirty blond hair obscuring the nervous glint behind his glasses. From what I can gather from the taunts of the crowding school kids, Jamie got into a fight with this guy over some girl from their English class.
A few years ago, I might've dreamed of attending – and likely crashing – Jamie's wedding to a girl with a heart as bright as his. I want to believe Jamie was protecting this one from some sort of bully.
But the reality of things hits hard: Jamie is the bully, beating up the friend of a girl he made unwanted advances on. And said friend, unfortunately, is not as strong as he is angry.
The smell of blood, drawn by Jamie's punch across the other guy's cheek, spoils what's supposed to be the fresh spring air, mixing with the stink of perspiring high school kids. It's hot this time of year, right before summer, but I'm not sweating. I haven't for three hundred years, really.
One last chance. I twirl my staff and conjure snow sparks at his face, but the blue light isn't igniting the fun in him that it used to. That only works for people with hearts open enough to accept it.
Then Jamie pins the other boy to the floor. Once, twice, thrice, his fist barrages the poor kid's jaw. That's it, there's no way I'm taking this anymore. North is going to kill me for this, but I have no choice.
I touch the staff to the pavement with a grunt – I never thought I'd have to do this to Jamie, but life has a way of screwing things over. A streak of frost slithers from the bottom of my staff and down the road up Jamie's bulky legs, freezing him in place. Luckily, the other guy's smart enough to take the chance to run for it. As soon as he does, I lift the staff and Jamie thaws out.
But the damage is done.
The kids in the crowd back up. I know what they're thinking: ice randomly appearing on a parking lot right before summer? What the hell?
Yeah, I've never liked this time of year. Too many rules.
The crowd scatters with a few snide remarks at Jamie, and then he walks away.
I float beside the now-seventeen-year-old, following him to wherever he's going. It scares me how numb I've gotten to his attitude. A few years ago, I didn't think this kid could hurt a fly.
"What the hell was that?" he mumbles to himself.
"Me," I say. "Jack Frost. Who else?"
Jamie stops. I swear he faces the exact spot I'm standing in, but his eyes tell me he sees nothing but space. He walks on.
When did this happen? I can't bear to face this kid any longer. I turn away and ride a weak wind around the town.
I guess it started when he hit puberty. That's when all hell broke loose. He moved to a new school different school, started making new friends. Started caring about popularity and reputations, then, soon enough, stopped caring about anything else. It's what happens to too many children in this world – parents and other kids tell them their childhood fantasies are nothing but, then they stop believing themselves. And that's that.
I land on a roof and look around. This was where Jamie and everyone gave the Guardians the power to defeat Pitch. This was where dragons made of sand walked the streets, where elves and Yetis and giant eggs beat the crap out of shadow horses, where a group of kids defeated fear itself. Where I found my center.
I look down. I guess it was kind of my fault, too. After that day, my duties as a true Guardian separated me from Jamie. I made it a point to visit every Easter, but every other day, I travelled the world and made new believers, throwing snowballs at their smiling faces and letting the occasional lucky kid do the sled routine.
Huh, I guess those first few believers are probably all grown up now, too. Even though I have new ones lighting up on the globe every day, the thought that I lost some puts this weird distance between me and everything. Maybe I stopped having as much fun when I realized that they'd forget me someday. I wonder how the Guardians put up with this feeling all their lives.
Then I remember the talk.
I groan and press the heels of my hands to my temples. Two years ago, on Christmas Day, North sat me down for a long, painful discussion on rule number five of the Guardian Code. It's become a sore point for all of us that I still haven't completely accepted that stupid last rule. And just minutes ago, I broke the fourth rule, which means North'll be coming any minute now to bring me back to the North Pole for another exciting harangue. Yeah, that's 'cause after we beat Pitch, the Man in the Moon gave North the responsibility of teaching me the ways of a Guardian, which, as it turns out, is not as easy as I thought it'd be.
I glance up at the sky, the faded outline of the moon barely visible this time of day. I'd have to have a talk with the Man himself about the Code someday. I mean, there must be something wrong with him if he expects me, the Guardian of fun and freedom, to suddenly start following harsh rules when I had none to live by for hundreds of years. Maybe I'd fly up there and–
Something dark flicks across the moon, gone so quick I'm not sure it was ever there. It was just a shadow, but it seemed so alive that even I have to shiver a little.
I fly down and pace a bit. I'm probably just imagining things. But then I hear a rumbling in the earth and I ready my staff. I spin around to hit the sudden presence behind me.
"Bloody hell, Jack!" Bunnymund curses, rubbing his half-frozen ear. "Yeah, it's nice to see you, too, mate." There's my best friend-slash-rival, as surly and narrow-eyed as ever.
"Bunny! Whoa, sorry about that," I say, tapping him with the staff again to thaw him out. "I'm a bit jittery today." I look up at the moon, but the shadow is nowhere to be seen.
"No shit," he says, fidgeting with his boomerang.
"I haven't seen you in forever," I say, only registering now how long it's been. "But you gotta remember Burgess. This is where-"
"Yeah, yeah, 'course I remember," he says, tapping the ground with his lucky rabbit foot twice and grabbing my arm. "But we have no time for the nostalgic crap, so c'mon."
"Wait, wha-"
My question gets left behind on the surface as he drags me down the proverbial rabbit hole. We bounce dizzyingly fast, just like the old days, through the largest tunnel in the world. Streaks of earthy green fly past me, and it's only a few minutes before we emerge at the Pole, right at the entrance of North's workshop.
I have to fight the urge to throw up, taking refuge in the sudden cold around us. Thank God for sweet winter.
"Sorry, mate. We're in a rush. If you've gotta chunder, face that way, then let's get inside," Bunnymund says, but I can tell he's not really sorry. Our friendly rivalry hasn't died down in the least over the years.
"I'm fine, Bunny. Wait, why did you bring me here? I know North's gonna lecture me again, but I didn't know you replaced the Yetis in the Jack-delivery service," I say, walking in.
"Very funny, mate. Be thankful I didn't stuff you in a bag. And no, this isn't about your insistent delinquency," he says as we cross the magical halls of Elves and toys and Yetis. "It's something much more serious."
I freeze a few Elves and thaw them out again as we pass; it's a bad habit I have when I'm nervous. "Did I do anything really bad?" I ask, lowering my voice to a whisper, "anything to get me Disenchanted?"
"No, nothing that bad," Bunny says. "You know what, mate, why don't you let the others explain?"
He pushes open the broad doors of the meeting hall, the big gold globe greeting me with millions of tiny lights. Strangely, some of the lights seem to be flickering, which I don't remember from before. North, Tooth and Sandy stand around it, eyeing me with big smiles.
North hurtles into me and lifts me four feet off the ground, which I've come to learn is his idea of hugging.
"Jack!" he greets, his phlegmy accent turning my name into Jeck. "Good to see you again!"
"You too, North," I say, pushing my staff against the wall to give me leverage to fly out of his merciless grip.
"I've missed you, Jack!" says Tooth, flying up to meet me for a much lighter hug, Baby Tooth pecking my shoulder in greeting.
"We saw each other last month, Tooth," I say. "Trouble with the frozen molar?" Even she had to admit that was a brilliant prank. She hits me lightly in the shoulder as I float down to meet Sandy, who conjures a smiling snowman above his head. Is that how he sees me? I blame those stupid movies.
"All right, now that all our greetings are settled, we have some important news for you, Jack," says Bunnymund, pointing his boomerang at me.
"That's right," agrees North. "Man in Moon has assigned you an apprentice!"
The word feels like an anvil dropping on my head. "A what?"
"Apprentice," North repeats. "Manny showed us a sign of a human girl who is to become a Guardian, and he clearly showed us that you, Jack, are to be her teacher."
"Hold on," I say, at a loss. "Why is there a new Guardian? Is Pitch back? Do we need to fight?"
"No, no," Tooth says. "A few hours ago, the Man in the Moon called us all here to witness this."
As soon as she says it, the gilded window in the corner slides open, revealing the moon. The silvery beam of light raises a panel in the floor, where the stone statue of a girl stands. She holds a single snowflake in her open hand.
"This is the same way we found out that you were to be a Guardian. Obviously, Manny has chosen this girl. But she holds a snowflake, which obviously means that you are to train her!" North intones, a bit too giddy.
"We think the Man in the Moon chose you because you are closest to her in age," says Tooth.
"I'm three hundred twenty-seven! How is that close to any human's age?" I ask. The responsibility of being a teacher is beginning to sink in, and it's my first reflex to dodge any duties. But there are still so many questions.
A big 1469 of sand forms above Sandy's head as he points at himself. Huh, I guess three hundred is relatively young.
"You still haven't answered my question. Why is there a new Guardian?" I ask.
Their faces darken.
"We face a new threat, Jack," says North, pointing to the pulsing lights.
I take a closer look at the model of the world. The lights look like they're flickering, but-
Oh crap. There are shadows passing over them – come and gone quickly, but still visible. Just like on the moon a while ago. Already, some of the flickering lights are dimming.
"What the hell is that," I ask, trying not to sound scared.
"Jack." North's tone makes me look at him, his grim face matched by those of the others. "You have noticed that some of the kids are... No longer believing?" He chooses his words carefully.
"Yeah," I say. "Look North, I don't wanna hear this talk again. I understand that-"
"No, Jack," Tooth interjects. "This isn't the same. It's not natural. This is the work of Spirits of Disenchantment."
The term makes me pull back a step. I accidentally freeze an elf behind me and nearly trip over it. "Spirit of Disenchantment? Isn't that what you guys said Pitch was?"
"Yeah, mate," Bunny says. "If us Guardians represent all the good parts of childhood, those guys are the manifestations of all the cruddy parts. The parts that make a kid stop believing."
"But you guys told me that was natural to stop believing eventually!" I say, rubbing my head. This is reminding me of the talk.
"It is natural for them to stop. But what's going on now is the Spirits are more active than before. They're taking some kids too early, and we don't know why. All we know is that we have to stop them. Their numbers are growing by the day," Tooth explains, her hands and head moving as frantically as her wings.
"In other words, kid, this is like Pitch multiplied by a million. This is the beginning of a war," Bunny says, throwing his boomerang at me. I catch it on the hook of my staff and toss it back.
The memory of Fearlings clogging the sky sends a stab of fear up my spine. But that's what they thrive on.
"Let me fight. You guys saw what I could do ten years ago, and I've gotten stronger," I say. A part of me remembers how incredible it felt to freeze all those Fearlings to oblivion.
"No," says North, stepping in front of me. The guy's huge. "We know you are powerful, Jack, but the Man assigned you to be a teacher. Not a fighter."
"What? You expect me to go tutor some stranger while all the kids of the world are in danger? You gotta be kidding."
"Jack, you have to understand. Obviously the Man has a plan, and it involves a new Guardian. She must hold the key to defeating that threat, just like how you were the key to beating Pitch last time," Tooth says.
"Yeah, and if we're facing a million Fearlings or something, we're gonna need all the help we can get," Bunny says.
I don't like this, but I can't fight it. The Man in the Moon hasn't been wrong before. But I still wonder: why me?
"Why should I be the mentor? I'm barely a Guardian myself," I say.
"Ten years is a long time, Jack. I'm sure you know the Code well enough," says Tooth.
"I broke the fourth rule today. I know you guys know. I was wondering when North was gonna bring it up," I say.
See, the Guardian Code consists of the most basic rules that we Guardians have to follow. For the spirit of childhood, for the hope of the future. And when any Guardian breaks the Code, the rest of us can feel it. I don't know how it works, but it's supposed to help us keep each other in check.
And if one of us doesn't cooperate, well, you don't wanna know.
"We know the context, Jack. It was to prevent violence," says Tooth. "We excuse you."
Sandy nods his approval.
"And it's about time you played your pranks elsewhere. The Yuletide season sucks when half the toys need to be thawed out," says North, punching me lightly on the shoulder. He's obviously thrilled he won't have to babysit me anymore, since apparently I've just graduated into senior Guardianship. He brings out his magical snow globe and throws it to me.
"Fine, just tell me what I need to do," I say. I peer into the globe: there's a group of people in black gathering to bury a coffin. Am I gonna crash a funeral?
"We don't actually really know," says Tooth. "Just show her the ropes, and never forget the Code. Rule number one: protect the children at all costs!"
Oh God. The last thing I want is another Code recitation. It's been drilled into my mind enough times.
Sandy forms number two above his head as Bunny recites: "Give no one child special treatment."
I throw the snow globe at the wall, and the vortex opens up. I've gotta get out of here. Now.
"Three: never force a child to believe!" North shouts at me as I fly up and out.
"Four: never use your powers where they would cause confusion!" Tooth calls.
My head plunges right through the swirling colors and into the new environment right before they can shout the fifth rule. And then my feet come through, too.